Overview

• The State Department halted all visitor visas for Gazans on August 16 to conduct a full review of the recently issued temporary medical-humanitarian visas.
• Secretary Rubio testified that multiple congressional offices presented evidence of terrorist affiliations among some aid facilitators but did not disclose any supporting details.
• Humanitarian groups including HEAL Palestine and the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund warn the suspension could derail evacuations of injured and critically ill Gazans, many of them children.
• Right-wing influencer Laura Loomer’s posts on X and endorsements by GOP lawmakers appear to have driven the policy shift, even though some of her claims have been debunked.
• Key questions about how many visas are affected, whether pending or approved cases will proceed and how long the review will last remain unanswered, creating operational uncertainty for NGOs and patients.